Here Without You
by DamonWinchester31
Summary: Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline decided to play around with magic and find themselves, along with Stefan, Jeremy, and Damon, forced to witness Damon's tragic past. This story is the heartbreaking tale of Damon's hard life as a human that caused him to become the man he is today. It's pretty sad, reader be warned.


"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Bonnie Bennett asked her two friends as she prepared what she needed to do the spell. The spell that she was going to preform was a memoir spell. If done correctly it allowed you to see specific parts of someone past. This spell in particular was being done to see none other than the past of Damon Salvatore. The three girls had been hanging out at the boarding house, with Stefan's permission, and their conversation turned to be about how mean and cruel Damon was. Then one thing led to another and Caroline ended up wishing there was a was they could see Damon's past to try and pinpoint' the exact point Damon became such an ass and Bonnie remembered a spell she had read about in the grimoire that let one do just that. So, with a little convincing from Caroline, Bonnie agreed to do the spell.

"Because Bonnie." Caroline started, "I don't know about you guys but I'm pretty curious to know what a human Damon was like."

"Probably exactly like vampire Damon minus the whole eating people thing." Elena added rolling her eyes. Bonnie just laughed and went back to getting the spell ready. Honestly, she was pretty sure the spell wouldn't work. It was a pretty complicated one and considering her focus was probably a little off since she and her friends had helped themselves to a bit of alcohol so she didn't exactly have faith that she would perform it successfully. Not that it really mattered to her. It was a chance to practice magic so why not.

"Ok, I'm ready whenever you guys are." Bonnie stated when she was finished with her preparations. They both nodded, indicating they were ready too.

"Ooo this is exciting!" Caroline said as Bonnie started the spell. Suddenly the door to the mansion opened and in stepped Stefan.

"Hey Elen- What are you guys doing?" Stefan asked curiously as he walked towards the group. Elena and Caroline looked up but Bonnie was to preoccupied in the spell to notice the interruption.

"Where doing a spell to see Damon's past." Caroline said with a tipsy giggle earning a glare from Elena who was sober enough to realize Stefan might not be happy about what they were doing.

"Your what? Why would you-" He was cut off by Damon's voice, who had just entered the room along with Jeremy who had been out with the two brothers.

"What you say about me?" Damon asked curiously stepping into the room as well, looking around with a confused expression as he saw all the candles lit up.

"What's the hell?" Damon muttered under his breath.

"Damon-" Stefan started but was cut off when all of the sudden the house started shaking.

"What's going on?" A confused Jeremy questioned. No one answered, however, because the shaking got even worse causing the three that were standing to fall over and everyone tumbled around.

When the shaking finally stopped the group began to stand one by one.

"Where are we?" Elena questioned looking around at the new surroundings the group found themselves in. Caroline, Bonnie and Jeremy shared her confused look but Damon and Stefan did not. They recognized this place all too well. It was their home. There old home, the one they lived in as humans.

"This is impossible." Damon muttered. This home had burnt down, there was nothing left so how on earth were they in it. He reached out to touch the wall only to find his hand could go right through it.

"What the-" Damon was more than confused now.

"What's going on?" He yelled, aiming his question at the three girls. Bonnie stepped towards him.

"We were doing a spell, I guess it worked. Or at least I think it worked. Where are we?" She questioned.

"It's our old home." Stefan spoke up. Damon went to add something but was cut off by the sound of voices and the sudden sound of a baby's cry. A look of terror swept over Damon's paling face as the voices grew louder.

"Get out." Someone yelled. It was a man's voice, rough and loud. And by the look on Damon and Stefan's face they recognized it.

"But father I want to see mother, why won't she wake up." That voice belonged to a child. A loud smack sounded followed by a whimper. The girls in the group walked towards the voices only to turn the hallway and find a young boy, around 6 years old with messy dark brown, almost black hair, cradling his cheek in his hand.

"Your mother is dead, gone." The man's voice snarled almost mockingly. "That woman is no longer around to protect you so you better do as I say. Now go to your room." The little boy stared menacingly at his father before turning and quickly running upstairs, passing the shocked group as he went.

"What was that?" Elena asked, tears forming in her eyes at the terrible incident she had just witnessed. No one answered. The whole group seemed pretty shaken up. Caroline, Bonnie, and Jeremy had all been stunned into silence, also saddened by what they had just seen. Stefan however was staring at his brother with a shocked look on his face.

Damon's shoulders were shaking, tight with the anger that coursed through his body. Whatever this spell was they had no right to preform it. They had no right to see his past. He turned to face the group, ignoring the questioning gaze Stefan was giving him.

"What kind of spell did you do exactly?" Damon asked in a menacingly low voice.

"I-It was a spell to see the past." Bonnie stuttered nervously, all three girls making sure not to make eye contact with him. "Your past." Damon snapped.

"Well fucking end it or I swear to god I'll kill you all." He yelled furiously.

"I can't." Bonnie stated backing away from him.

"What do you mean you can't?" Damon said, his voice dropping into a growl.

"I don't know how, the spell only ends when it's finished." Damon let out a growl, crossing his arms.

"Well it better finish soon. I have better things to do then reminisce old memories." His voice was cold and detached as he spoke.

Suddenly a voice erupted from behind the group causing them to all turn and realize their surroundings had changed once more. They were now outside, in the backyard of the Salvatore's manor underneath a willow tree near a small lake. The young boy they had seen earlier was underneath it as well, throwing stone's in the lake. The group noticed his eyes were puffy, as if he had been crying.

Damon remembered this. This was the day he met her. It was a day after his mother's death and as a young boy Damon had felt as if there was no longer any chance of being happy again. He had loved his mother more than anything as a boy. While his father was cruel and unloving his mother was always there for him. She was everything to him. He didn't have many friends, he never really understood the other children, and he obviously didn't get along with his father, but his mother was the one person who loved him unconditionally. She taught him so much as a child and her death left a gaping hole in his chest. But the girl he met today, this girl helped him recover. She was the reason he was able to feel happy again.

And then he saw her. Skipping down towards him just like he remembered. The young boy turned, seeing that there was someone else here he quickly rubbed his eyes attempting to hide the fact that he had been crying.

"What are you doing here?" the group heard the boy say in an intimidating voice. The girl, however, seemed unfazed by the tone of his voice.

"I just moved next door." The sweet voice of the young girl answered, twirling a curl of her long brown hair with her finger. "I was taking a walk and saw you sitting here so I thought I'd say hello." The boy looked at her suspiciously.

"Well you just did so you can leave now." The girl frowned.

"You are mean. My mother would never let me say something so rude." The girl stated now glaring at the boy. She saw his face dropped and immediately regretted her words. The boy turned back to the pond, his shoulders hunched.

"Just leave." The boy pleaded quietly. The girl didn't listen however, and instead walked towards him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad." The young boy turned his head to look at her and when he saw the sincerity in her grassy green eyes he nodded.

"Do you wanna talk about it." She said going to stand beside him. He looked at her again, as if deciding whether or not he should, and then he spoke.

"My mother died yesterday." He sat on the ground, pulling his knees to his chest. The girl sat beside him.

"I'm sorry." He could see the sadness in her eyes when he looked at her. "My older brother died two weeks ago, that's why we moved here." He nodded again, not daring to say anything. They sat in silence. The last thing that could be heard before the groups surrounding began to change again was the small voice of the boy quietly saying, "I'm Damon." and the girl replying with "I'm Lucy."

The group's eyes fell onto Damon's form. He had been staring at the children intently as the scene played out, his face holding an almost tragically happy expression. Now they understood why he wanted to leave the spell so badly. They assumed the little boy was him but they couldn't be sure, not until it was just confirmed. Stefan of course had known it was him immediately but that didn't stop him from being shocked by the scenes playing out in front of him. These things had happened before he was old enough to remember.

"You're sure you can't stop the spell Bonnie." Damon asked quietly. She shook her head, silently indicating that she wasn't able to do anything. Damon let out a long sigh. "I'm starting to wish i had never left the bar."

The surroundings had changed and now they were back in the house, this time Damon and Lucy were standing in a large room, looking over a bassinet at the small child who now appeared to be around one years old.

"Aww he's so cute." Lucy said as she reached down to ruffle the little guys hair. The young Damon, however, looked slightly uncomfortable. He took a step back, no longer being able to look at the innocent child.

"Damon come on, he's just a baby he won't bite." Lucy teased noticing how uncomfortable her friend seemed to be. The boy's eyes darted from the baby to his friends before he turned around.

"This is boring, can't we go play tag or something." The boy complained. Lucy straightened up and walked over to the young Damon.

"You never want to play with baby Stefan. Why not? He's your brother." He turned to look at her with a serious expression in his eyes.

"It's his fault." He muttered quietly. Lucy looked confused.

"What's his fault, he's just a baby." The young girl didn't understand.

"He's the reason my mother died." The boy replied bitterly, looking at the floor unable to look his friend in the eye. A look of understanding washed over the girls soft face. She took her friends hand and drug him over to the crib.

"He's just a baby Damon." The girl said softly "It wasn't his fault. He lost his mother to you know. He's your little brother you're supposed to protect him." Young Damon gazed down at the little boy who was now sleeping soundly. A voice interrupted the moment from downstairs. It was one of the maids, telling Lucy it was time for her to go home.

The girl looked wearily at her friend before saying goodbye and rushing downstairs, knowing if she stayed any longer her parents would worry. The boy stayed there, staring at his younger brother's sleeping form.

"She's right." The boy said quietly "I'm sorry I was so mean little Stefan. I promise from this day on I'm gonna be the best big brother ever."

"Wow who knew, Damon's a softie." Jeremy said with a chuckle. Damon glared at him.

"Shut up Gilbert." The three girls were also staring at Damon, once again stunned by how sensitive he was as a boy.

The scene changed again and this time the group found themselves staring at slightly older Damon and Lucy. The both seemed to be around the age of 13 now. But that wasn't what surprised the group. What did surprise them was the fact that Damon was currently covered in cuts and bruises and Lucy was cleaning him up.

"Ow" The young Damon muttered as Lucy dabbed at his bleeding wound. Lucy ignored him and kept cleaning his wounds.

"Damon you have to do something about this." Lucy said quietly. This drew the group in. They were curious to know how young Damon got in this state. Except Damon of course who had a pretty good idea what this was about. He couldn't remember what time, he had often went to Lucy after one of his father's beatings, but he was sure that was the reason behind his injured state. Which is exactly why he was hoping this scene wouldn't give that fact away. Hopefully he could just convince the gang he had gotten into a fight or something. Not that he really cared what the gang thought but Stefan never knew about how abusive their father was. Damon had managed to keep him safe and decided to leave Stefan out of it completely.

"There's nothing to do Lucy." Young Damon muttered bitterly.

"But it's getting worse, he could seriously hurt you Damon." The girl had tears in eyes and young Damon sighed.

"I'll be fine." He said it firmly, trying to act like he was not bothered by the whole situation.

"But-" Lucy started but was cut off.

"But nothing. If I fight back then he'll just try to hurt Stefan and I refuse to let that happen. My father will not lay a finger on my baby brother." His voice held so much determination it almost brought tears to Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie's watching eyes. Stefan eyes, on the other hand, held shock and hurt as he turned to stare at his older brother.

"He beat you?" He asked, completely shocked.

"Not now Stefan." Damon sighed tiredly.

"I never knew, you never told me. Why not?" Stefan continued to question, desperate to know.

"I never had to and I never wanted to. It was my burden to bear not yours." Damon replied matter of factly turning to stare at his brother.

"You were protecting me." Stefan stated flatly.

"You're my brother; of course I was protecting you." The older brother stated, his voice holding the same tone the younger Damon had.

"I always wondered why you hated father so much." Stefan stated "This was why?" Damon just nodded, turning back to watch his younger self joke around about his injuries, trying to comfort his young friend who worried about him to no end.

Once again the surroundings began to change and now the group was watching Damon and Lucy that appeared to be around 15 years old playing with a young boy around the age of 9 who the group safely assumed was the young version of Stefan.

The two friends chased the boy around the yard as he kicked around a ball, laughing joyfully. Damon tackled his little brother to the ground. The two boys continued to wrestle, both trying to get the ball, until Lucy walked over to them and playfully snatched the ball away holding it over her head in victory. Young Damon whispered something in his brother's air and simultaneously the rose up from the ground and tackled Lucy on to the ground, tickling her. A voice was heard from inside, someone was calling Stefan's name, and the boy quickly shot up and ran indoors after saying goodbye.

Once Stefan was out of sight, young Damon caught Lucy off guard and began tickling her again. The two laughed uncontrollably and rolled around in the grass. When the tickling and laughter came to a stop, the two friends found their faces inches apart, Lucy resting on top of Damon's chest. She leaned in and when their lips met a loud 'Awww' could be heard from the three girls watching.

Older Damon turned to glare at Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie but the three girls just laughed, Jeremy joining in. Damon shook his head at them and turned back to stare at his younger self and Lucy. He couldn't help but notice how happy he looked back then, when he was with her. He missed those days, he missed her.

The beautiful outside setting faded and was replaced by an old looking office. Inside were Damon and his father.

"I love her father. And I'm going to marry her whether you approve of it or not."

"Don't you dare assume you have authority over me just because your 18. I'm your father and you will do as I say." Giuseppe said angrily.

"No I will not. We may be related by blood but you were never a father towards me." The young Damon snarled. This angered Giuseppe, who rose from his chair to stand in front of his son. He raised his hand and was ready to strike when Damon's own hand shot up to stop him. He grabbed the old man's wrist and twisted it backwards.

"If you ever lay a hand on me again," Damon said in a low voice. "I swear I'll kill you." He let go of his father, straightening back up. "Goodbye Father." He practically spat out the words before leaving the room.

When the scene didn't change the group followed after the past Damon and found him outside the house, talking to Lucy.

"What did he say?" She asked placing a gentle hand on the past Damon's face in attempt to calm his anger.

"It doesn't matter." He stated pressing his lips to hers briefly. "We're getting married next week and that's all I care about." He leaned in to kiss her again, more passionately than the last time and as things started heating up between the two the scene changed once more.

Now the group found themselves in a different house. It was definitely smaller than the previous one but it seemed to be a decent size.

"Where are we now?" Elena questioned causing Damon to snap out of his reminiscent state.

"This is the house me and Lucy lived in." He answered his voice drifting of as he looked around the house. It brought back so many memories, happy and sad.

The front door slammed and in stepped a furious Lucy and a flustered Damon. They didn't look much older than they had when in the last scene, it was probably only about a year later.

"Lucy, can we please talk about this." Past Damon said in a pleading voice, following after his fuming wife. Lucy stopped in her tracks turning to face her husband who stopped as well.

"What more is there to talk about, you obviously don't want this." His eyes saddened as he heard the hurt in his wife's voice.

Present day Damon chuckled as he remembered what had happened this day. He had been such an idiot, reacting the way he did.

"I was just surprised Luce." Past Damon said as he reached forward to cup his wife's face. "We've been married less than a year, I just wasn't expecting this so soon. But don't you dare for even a second think I don't want this baby."

The group of friends that watched the couple unknowingly let out a series of gasp, except for Damon and Stefan of course. Damon had a kid. The group had not seen that coming. They all wondered how they had not known about this. Damon himself ignored their questioning glances as he kept his eyes trained on his younger self and past love.

"I love you Lucy and I already love this child because he or she is ours. We made the little guy in there." Lucy chuckled as her husband rubbed her slightly swollen body. The couples eyes met and he swooped in for a mind numbing kiss.

Seeing the happy scene Jeremy, Bonnie, Elena, and even Caroline couldn't help but notice how good Damon used to be. He obviously loved this girl and was incredibly nice and gentle with her. This of course led to them wondering what tragic thing must have taken her out of his life, leaving him so cold and cruel.

The scene changed and a quiet whimpering filled the air along with heavy breathing. The group noticed they were in the upstairs of the house from the last scene. A heavily pregnant Lucy was sitting on the bed clutching onto the hand of past Damon who was sitting right beside her. Her forehead was covered in sweat and the gang realized the whimpers were coming from her, she was in labor.

Present day Damon's face paled when he realized what day this was. This was the second worst day of his entire existence. He still had nightmares about what had happened this day. He couldn't watch this. Not again. It was bad enough having to live through it once but to have to watch it again. It would be torture.

"No." Present day Damon muttered causing the group to look at him. Stefan's eyes held the same pain as Damon's. He remembered this day as well and it wasn't a memory he was very fond of. "Please Bonnie, stop the spell." Damon begged, shocking Bonnie as well as the rest of the group. They were startled by how distressed he was.

"Damon-" Elena started reaching forward to rest her hand against his shaking shoulders but he pulled away.

"I can't watch this. I can't." Stefan reached out to rest his own hand on Damon's shoulder, glad that he didn't pull away from him.

A loud cry erupted from Lucy, causing present day Damon to turn back and watch the scene with a look of anguish on his face.

"Shh, you're ok." Past Damon whispered, trying to soothe his wife. His free hand moved to move her hair out of her eyes, he leaned down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"It hurts Damon." Lucy groaned causing both past and present Damon to flinch. It was obvious he hated seeing her in so much pain.

"It's time to push." The midwife in the room announced. "I suggest you leave Mister Salvatore." A look of terror swept over Lucy's face at the thought of her husband leaving her side.

"In already told you, I'm staying." he said firmly, leaving no room for discussion. The midwife just nodded her head and started her work.

Lucy began pushing and cried out in pain. Past Damon tried to offer as much support and comfort as he could as present Damon watched helplessly as he once again watched the love of his life go through so much pain.

"I-I can't." Lucy breathed out. It was obvious she was getting tired. Past Damon murmured something in her hair and Lucy began pushing again. With one final push, crying filled the room. Past Damon's mouth immediately turned into a smile as he asked the midwife how his baby was. Present Damon, however, walked straight to Lucy's unmoving form. She was so still, it almost looked as if she were sleeping but he knew better. The birth had worn her out to much. She had a hard pregnancy and went into premature labor. She died.

Past Damon quickly noticed something off with his wife. He shook her but she wouldn't wake, she never would. As he desperately tried to wake his wife present Damon looked at his old self with a look of hatred.

"This is your fault." Present Damon yelled at his past self. "You did nothing to help her. You should have saved her. You couldn't protect her." His voice broke at the end and he dropped to his knees. He pounded his fist against the floor, all of the anger and sadness he had felt before overwhelming him. Stefan walked towards him, attempting to comfort his brother as the gang watched with stunned expressions. None of them had realized Damon had gone through so much pain. To lose the love of your life, they couldn't even imagine what that felt like.

The scene changed again and the group was now back in the downstairs level of the house. This time past Stefan stood with his arms crossed as an obviously drunk Damon stumbled inside the house, whiskey in hand. Present Stefan stood up, leaving Damon on the ground.

The second past Damon entered the house he ignored Stefan and went straight to the living room, fully intending to pass out on the couch but Stefan stopped him. He walked right up to Damon and punched him square in the jaw.

Damon's head snapped to the side and he slowly turned back to glare at his younger brother. "What was that for Stefan?" he snarled.

"You know what it was for." Stefan yelled in replied. "You have been ignoring your daughter Damon, your own daughter!" Present Damon rose from his position on the floor, going to stare at his past self. He remembered this. As drunk as he was that day he remembered all of it. It was a week after Lucy's death and he spent that entire week ignoring his precious daughter. And he hated himself for that, for wasting any amount of extra time he could have had with her. Luckily Stefan was there to talk some sense into him or who knows what would have happened.

"Stef-"Damon started but Stefan cut him off

"No Damon, whatever you have to say in defense is wrong. She's your daughter, Lucy's daughter, and you're just acting like she doesn't exist. Look I know your upset about Lucy but you're not the only one who lost someone. Yeah you lost your wife but that little girl, that little girl that you made, lost her mother and you of all people should know how hard it is to go through that. And you also know what it's like to have a father that doesn't care so do you really want to be like this because if you do then you might as well be our own father!" At this Damon got mad and was about to yell back at Stefan but Stefan continued in a softer voice. "Look, I understand that some part of you may blame her for this but don't, she's just an innocent little girl. Lucy told me that you hated me when I was first born because of what happened to our mom but you forgave me so why can't you forgive her too." Past Damon didn't replied but he knew that Stefan was right.

"I never thanked you for that." Present Damon said quietly, speaking to his brother.

"You never had too, I'm just glad I was able to talk some sense into you." Stefan said.

Past Damon set his glass down and walked upstairs to his daughter's bedroom, the group followed after him. The baby was awake when he entered but she was starring silently ant the ceiling above her. Her head turned when her father entered. He went over to the crib and picked her up. She looked exactly like her mother she had her tan skin, chocolate brown hair, and even had her nose. But she had Damon's piercing blue eyes instead of her mother's green eyes. She was beautiful and she was his and Present Damon remembered how the second he looked into her eyes his heart had melted and he knew this little girl would have him wrapped around her finger.

The scene changed and the group found themselves shocked at the image of Damon sitting on a couch near a warm fire with a little girl, about 5 years old sitting on his lap. She was snuggled into his chest and he had one arm draped over her. He had a book in his other hand, _The Call of the Wild,_ and he was reading to her.

"What's her name?" Caroline asked quietly towards Damon who was watching his little girl intently.

"Elizabeth." He answered without taking his eyes off his daughter. "Elizabeth Marie Salvatore." No one said anything else. They could see the pain in present Damon's eyes as he watched his daughter. It was obvious that he missed her.

The little girl suddenly turned her direction to the window and noticed that it had begun to snow outside. "Daddy, Daddy look it's snowing." Present Damon felt his heart break when he heard his precious little girl's voice again. Then he realized something.

Present Damon dropped to the ground, his whole body shaking as he rested his hands on the floor. "No." He whispered heartbreakingly "Not this."

Stefan's felt a pang in a chest when he realized why Damon was acting this way. He remembered it was snowing that day, so that must mean that that day was today. This was the top of the list when it came to the worst days of Damon Salvatore's life.

"Can we go for a walk Daddy, please." The little girl begged her father. Past Damon hesitated but couldn't say no to his little girl.

"Ok fine, but just for a little bit, I don't want to tire you out."

"No" Present Damon yelled rising from the ground, startling the rest of the group. "Just stay home, why can't you have just stayed home." His voice sounded so sad and desperate it broke everyone in the groups heart. Although Bonnie, Caroline, Elena, and Jeremy didn't know what was going to happen, they could realize something bad was coming.

"It wouldn't have changed what happen if you stayed home Damon, you know that." Stefan said placing a hand on his trembling brother's shoulder.

"I can't Stef." Damon cried "I can't watch this too, it's too much." Stefan didn't say anything.

Meanwhile past Damon had gotten his daughter all bundled up and they were now heading out the door.

"We have to follow." Bonnie said quietly. Damon shook his head.

"I can't."

"If we don't the spell won't end Damon." Bonnie said gently, reaching out to touch him so he would look her in the eyes. She felt sorry for him. She had spent so much time hating him for being such a monster but after seeing him so broken, she almost felt guilty for hating him. "We have to go."

Damon nodded, standing back up and the group followed past Damon and his daughter outside. They followed the two for a while and the girls found themselves falling in love with this little girl. She was so happy and kind. She was perfect.

They had been walking for a little bit when all of the sudden the girl stopped. Her father stopped a few steps later when he realized she was no longer beside him.

"El what's wrong." Past Damon questioned his voice full of concern as he went to kneel beside her. Her hand was on her chest and she had a pained look in her eyes. Both Damon's knew what this meant.

"She had a heart condition." Stefan explained quietly to the group as Damon continued to watch the scene unfold with terror in his eyes. "She was born prematurely and her heart wasn't fully developed. The doctors didn't know how to treat it, medicine wasn't as good back then as it is now. They said she probably wouldn't live a full life. But that didn't stop Damon from doing everything he could to give her a great life. He was a good Dad, protective and loving. He gave her everything she could have ever wanted. And she was a great kid. Kind and polite to everyone she met, just like her mom. Everyone loved her." Tears formed in Stefan's eyes as he spoke so fondly of the beautiful little girl. The rest of the group found themselves on the verge of tears as well. Who would have thought that Damon would make a good dad. And that poor little girl had to live with a condition like that yet she was still so happy. It was amazing.

The little girl found herself falling as her knees grew week but her father caught her. "It's ok." Her father said gently trying to hide the panic in his voice. "Your gonna be fine now lets get you home." He went to stand but the girl protested.

"No." She said gently.

"Baby girl I gotta get you home-"

"I can feel it Daddy." Her words caused him to freeze. "This one is different from the other attacks." Tears formed in past Damon's eyes as present Damon watched the two, his face stoic.

"Do something!" Present Damon yelled suddenly, "She's your daughter and your just letting her die." His body shook with anger and sadness as stared at his past self with disgust.

"I'm dying aren't I Daddy." The tears slipped down her father's face, he shook his head.

"No." He said trying to keep his voice steady. "You're gonna be fine sweetheart."

"Do something you coward!" Present Damon yelled again. The gang watched in distress as Damon paced, furiously tugging at his hair.

"Don't be sad Daddy." The girl said softly as she reached up to wipe the tear off her father's face. "I'll be with momma, it's ok." Past Damon broke, more tears streaming down his face as his daughter grew weaker and weaker. Present Damon broke down too, his knees growing to weak to hold his weight. He fell to the ground, an inhumane sob escaping his lips.

"It's not fair." Present Damon muttered. "She just a girl she didn't deserve this." He screamed throwing his head back to face the sky. "Why couldn't it have been me?" His anger came back. "Everyone I loved died and none of them deserved it." He stood up, still shouting at the sky. "It should've been me! Why couldn't it have been me?" The group stood, all feeling heartbroken for Damon. He had stopped yelling and was now breathing heavily, glaring angrily at nothing. They didn't know how to comfort him. How do you comfort someone in a situation like this?

"I love you Daddy." The little girl said.

"Daddy loves you too." His shoulders were trembling as tears continued to flow down his face. The girl closed her eyes and went completely still. Her father let out a painful cry as he buried his face in the body of his now dead daughter.

Present Damon took a deep breath and walked over to his now dead daughter's body. He knew no one other than the group was able to see or feel him but that didn't stop him from leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss to his beloved daughter's forehead.

"Daddy's always gonna love you, baby girl." He whispered. Sadness overwhelmed him and tears consumed him as he buried his hands in his face, letting himself cry once again.

The scene changed and the group found themselves back in the boarding house, in the present day. Tears were streaming down everyone's faces as they tried to adjust to everything they had seen. After knowing what Damon had been through they all felt bad for judging him so quickly. They found themselves feeling guilty for all the bad things they said about Damon. No one who lost his family in such a tragic way deserved to be treated so poorly, even if he did become a cold heartless jerk. Can you really blame him. He lost everything.

"That's why I fell in love with Katherine." Damon said quietly, startling everyone. "When my- When my daughter died I was a mess, even worse than I was after Lucy's death. Then Katherine came along and she was the perfect distraction. And when I found out what she was I couldn't care less. If she had killed me I would have been fine with that, I had no desire to live anymore, it was to painful. And then I found out about the switch, that I could take all the pain away. That was all I wanted, the pain to go away." His confession shocked everyone into silence as they thought about what he said.

"Damon, I'm so sorry." Elena said when her own tears had stopped. Everyone followed in suit, quietly giving him there condolences and apologies. Damon just sat down, his tears long gone. The cold look he had spent years perfecting swept back over his features but they all knew how much anguish he hid beneath it.

"I think it would be best if you all leave now." Damon said quietly, not looking at any of them. They all did as he said and silently left the house, except for Stefan of course.

"I'm sorry too brother." Stefan said as he came went to sit next to his brother, the same faraway look Damon had at the moment encasing his own face as well.

"For what?" Damon questioned keeping his eyes trained ahead of him.

"I forgot everything that you went through. I should have helped you in more ways than I did." Damon turned to look at his brother. He brought a hand to rest on his little brothers shoulder.

"You helped me plenty brother, but after their deaths-there was nothing left to help." With that he got up and went to his bedroom.

Around midnight a restless Damon left the boarding house, walking to the graveyard. He found the familiar tombstones of his wife and daughter and sat beside them like he had done many other nights. He didn't talk to them like he usually does. He just sat, enjoying the silence.

After basically reliving his tragic past he remembered something. It was a feeling. The same feeling he had first felt when he lost his daughter, the same feeling he had felt when he decided he didn't want to complete the transition into a vampire. He was ready to die, he had been for a while.

So, he took off his daylight ring, sitting it down next to him, and he laid down next to the graves of his wife and daughter. A few hours later the sun rose and he basked in the pain as he felt death grew near. He felt his life fading, as if it were slipping out of his grasp. As he grew weaker and weaker he could hear the voice of his sweet child and beautiful love. He could feel them, he could see the outline of their faces. He wasn't afraid to die. He was happy. Because now, he could finally escape the pain of the world he lived in and be with the ones he loved. His family.


End file.
